Big Schloss/ Wolf Gap

December, 2001

Source Walks: 10-13-95 and 10-14-95

Big Schloss, a prominence of Silurian sandstone, tops
Great North Mountain approximately six miles (10 km) northwest of Columbia
Furnace, Virginia on the West Virginia line.
Two miles (3 km) southwest of this prominence the range is cut by Wolf
Gap which separates the main ridge from Tibbet Knob. At 2964 ft (903 meters) elevation Big Schloss rises 700 ft. (210
meters) above Wolf Gap and 1500 ft. (460 meters) above the Little Stony Creek
Valley to the southeast.

Wolf Gap is a "wind gap" or a gap without a
stream. Of course, this gap, like
"water" gaps, which do have streams, was also formed by the power of flowing
water. However the missing stream —
which was probably a large one since the gap is almost a mile wide
— vanished millions, perhaps many millions of years ago, when its upper
reaches were captured by another stream.
The result is that within the gap a considerable area is drained by
subsurface flow of water. This flow
does result in one surface manifestation, a wetland which may have standing
water at times. The variation of soils,
flora and forest type between the mountain slopes and the floor of Wolf Gap
present us with an exciting example of forest ecology.

Our
first traverse is from the mid-slope of the mountain through the lower slope
and ends in the wetland area of Wolf Gap.
The second traverse again begins at the mid-slope and extends to the top
of Big Schloss. A third traverse
extends along about a mile of the Little Stony Creek Valley.

Descending to the floor of Wolf Gap the forest
gradually becomes more mesic with an increase of Red Maple, Black Gum, Northern
Red and White Oak. These are also
joined by Black Birch (Betula lenta), Tuliptree ( Liriodendron tulipifera
) and other mesic species as the wetland is approached. Some oaks in particular are large on the
lower slope with one White Oak exceeding 40 inches (1m) dbh. An interesting occurrence on this slope is a
single 29 inch (0.74 m) dbh Cottonwood (Populus
deltoides). Other canopy species on
the slope and on the gap floor are Black Locust ( Robinia pseudoacacia ) . Black Cherry ( Prunus serotina), Pitch and White Pines, seedlings and
saplings of Sugar Maple (Acer
saccharum), a few small Pignut
Hickories (Carya glabra and / or C.
ovalis) and Butternut (Juglans cinerea ) . American Chestnut
sprouts, Sassafras, Striped Maple, Hop Hornbeam (Ostrya virginiana) and Redbud (Cercis
canadensis) occur as well. There is
a diverse shrub layer consisting of Minnie-bush, Maple-leaf Viburnum ( Viburnum
acerifolium ), a few Black
Haw Viburnum (V.
prunifolium ), Witch
Hazel ( Hamamelis virginiana ), Deerberry
(Vaccinium stamineum), and associated with the wetland, Smooth Alder (Alnus serrulata), Winterberry Holly ( Ilex verticillata) and Black Elderberry (
Sambucus canadensis ) . A
distinctive characteristic of the holly is a flattened crown shape. Dewberry (Rubus sp) is common on
the lower slope and vigorous canes of a thorned blackberry and Black Raspberry
(Rubus occidentalis) occur in openings. A single shrub of the alien Japanese
Barberry (Berberis thunbergii) was
also seen. A feature of the White Oaks
here was a heavy crop of acorns that appear almost sweet enough for human
consumption.

The
base of the lower slope soils appears to be sand derived from the slope above
or in-place weathering of sandstone since the underlying rock is probably the
same in both places. The high
proportion of mesic species like Black Birch (leaves mostly fallen) and Red
Maple (leaves in color) has a decisive effect on the soil. Since the leaves of these species decay
rapidly there is virtually no forest floor (undecayed litter) in the technical
sense. Instead the decayed organic
matter is incorporated into the mineral soil by organisms to form a type of
sandy mull (Braun, 1950) . This soil
contrasts starkly with that of the dry, ericaceous mid and upper slopes which
have a distinct layer of undecayed organic matter (mor). While the mesic forest soil is still acidic,
a review of the flora indicates likely movement, relative to the upland soils,
toward a more neutral pH.

It is
likely that the mesic character of the lower slope and floor of Wolf Gap is
largely the result of a high water table that results from the absence of a
stream. The presence of such a moisture
dependent species as Cottonwood fairly high on the slope is in harmony with
this supposition, since this tree could access this water by a root zone not
far below the surface. Furthermore,
since this flow would occur below a fairly steep surface slope, it would tend
to move rapidly and be well æreated, and thus contribute to the favorable
growing conditions indicated by other large trees.

Our ascent of Big Schloss began in cloudy weather and
ended in light rain as Ravens called and Towhees ( Pipiloerythrophthalmus) darted in the shrubbery near the
summit. The midslope forest as
described earlier persists to near the crest of the ridge that towers above
Wolf Gap. As this crest is approached
the forest becomes more mesic with the appearance of American Basswood (Tilia
americana ), White Ash (Fraxinus americana ), Pignut
Hickory and Black Birch and with a considerable increase in the amount of
Northern Red Oak. However the first
Bear Oak ( Quercus ilicifolia) is also encountered here.
On the ridge crest Calico, Wavy-leaf (Aster undulatus) and Bigleaf (
A. macrophyllus) Asters put in an appearance. As evidence of increased soil moisture and fertility, some large
vigorous Poke (Phytolacca americana)
plants laden with ripe berries also occur here. Other herbs found along the ridge included Many Knees (Polygonatum sp.), Plume Lily (Smilacina racemosa), and Ebony
Spleenwort (Asplenium platyneuron). Accompanying shrubs were
Corymbed Spiraea (
Spiraea corymbosa ) and various
species of Rubus, including thorned blackberries and a species
with gland-tipped bristles resembling Red Raspberry . Continuing along the
ridge toward Big Schloss at about 2800 ft (850 meters) elevation, we
encountered Carolina Rose (Rosa
Carolina) , a little Upland Low
Blueberry, Deerberry, Virginia Pine (Pinus virginiana), a species of
Gooseberry (Ribes sp), Black Raspberry (Rubus
occidentalis), Black Cherry, Red Maple, a little shrubby Cucumber
Magnolia ( Magnolia
acuminata), a single Black
Haw Viburnum and Ninebark (Physiocarpus
opulifolius), a shrub also at home along streams but heavy with fruit and
thriving. Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) is also common and a
single Juniper (Juniperus virginiana)
stood on an exposed rock. As on the
slope below, Chestnut Oak continued abundant and in some cases showed sprout
clumps with the widely-spaced sprouts characteristic of a frequent-fire
disturbance regime. In an area with
particularly imposing rocks these were covered with rock tripe ( Umbilicaria sp ?) and dark green
clumps of Rock Fern (Polypodium virginianum). At the base of these rocks grew Woodland
Sunflowers (Helianthus divaricatus),
Plume Lily, White Wood Aster and Wreath Goldenrod. The common phenomenon
of the apparent increase in moisture
soil fertility on sandstone ridge tops,
as compared to the slopes, has been discussed in relation to our inventories of
Garden Mountain and Mill Hill (see our sections on these areas). This
phenomenon also requires caution in the application of the so-called
"moisture index", which yields low moisture values on ridge tops.

Farther along an area is entered in which the ridge
broadens, where soils are less rocky and deeper, and where Northern Red Oak
dominates the canopy. However White and
Chestnut Oaks and a little Sugar Maple also occur here. In places a broad leaved grass forms a dense
ground cover. Most trees have an
orchard-like form and many are quite large and may even be primary old growth,
perhaps modified only by human-set fires and the loss of Chestnut.

As Big Schloss is approached one encounters great
thickets and tangles of Common Greenbrier and Basswood is more abundant. Rock on the summit is a white, partially
conglomeratic sandstone. Major tree
species growing on and amidst the great rocks are Northern Red and Chestnut
Oaks, Pitch and White Pines, Sassafras, Black Gum, Red Maple and Black
Birch. Some of the Black Birch are
nothing more than small shrubs but bear cones.
Minor species are Serviceberry, Striped Maple, Witch Hazel, Minnie-bush,
Mountain Laurel, Upland Low Blueberry, Black Huckleberry (Gaylussacia baccata) and Mountain Holly (Ilex montana) with abundant red berries. Rock tripe and Rock Fern cover the rock
surfaces.

With a latitude of approximately 39°N Big Schloss
appears not to attain sufficient elevation to markedly influence the flora
except for the occurrence of Mountain Holly on
the summit. Also the relatively narrow
connection between the upper slopes and Wolf Gap as well as the open slope down
the valley militate against any substantial cold air accumulation in the
gap. Consequently no markedly boreal
species were observed there. This area
thus presents an interesting
illustration of the effect of topographic nuances in local floristics.
For example, the lower valley of Ramseys Draft, which lies far south of here
and at only a little over 2000 feet (610 m) asl, is host to a suit of boreal
plants, since it is subject to the "mirror effect" engendered by the
presence of high ridges up-valley,and which are a source of cool subsiding air
during the early growing season in particular (see our section on Ramseys Draft
). Thus valleys beneath high slopes, such as those above Ramseys Draft,
may have climates considerably cooler than far higher ridges themselves, such
as Big Schloss, which, however, still fall short of heights adequate for
sufficient lapse rate cooling.

It is noteworthy also that despite the prevalence of
the Gypsy Moth ( Lymantria dispar
) in the general area recently, the forest on this part of the Great
North Mountain shows little sign of the Moth and apparently put on vigorous
growth during the past season as evidenced particularly by the thick leaf mat
and absence of perforated oak leaves.
The same is not as true however of the Stony Creek Valley, which is
considered in the next section.

The Virginia Division of Natural Heritage (Smith, 1991
) has proposed that the immediate area of Big Schloss be set aside as a
“Special Interest Area—Zoological” because it has been used as a reintroduction
site for the Peregrine Falcon ( Falco
peregrinus) and because
these birds have returned to the area and have been observed using the cliffs
as habitat.

Big Schloss/ Little Stony Creek

Source Walk: 10-15-95

A rapid foray was made up Little Stony Creek,
beginning where Forest Road 92 crosses the stream and extending upstream for
perhaps a mile. The stream is well, if
tritely, named in that its course is over almost continuous outcrops and large
boulders of sandstone. The narrow valley,
as is typical for such siliceous country rock, supports an acid-mesic forest
with abundant ericaceous shrubs and ground cover. The canopy is —or was— dominated by mature White Oak, many of
which have been killed by the Gypsy Moth in recent years. Accompanying the White Oak are Chestnut and
Northern Red Oaks, which have been less affected by the Moth, as well as
Tuliptree, Black Birch, Red Maple, Black Locust, Black Gum, Sassafras, American
Chestnut sprouts, White, Pitch and Virginia Pines and Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) . The Hemlock forms substantial groves but is
not in general large. It seems
Adelgid-free in the lower part of the traverse but shows signs of infestation
farther upstream. In places Hemlock
saplings show a spurt of growth as a result of White Oak canopy loss. Striped Maple occurs near the road at an
elevation of 1500 ft (460 meters) and may occur at even lower elevations. While this species is usually not found
below 2000 ft. (610 meters) in the vicinity of 38°N, its elevation here seems
low even for the added degree of latitude.

As on the upper slopes of Great North Mountain, there
appears to be an abundance of acorns.
Although fruiting of White Oak is restrained by the past Gypsy Moth
infestation, Northern Red and Chestnut Oaks were very productive and their
acorns littered the trail.

Unless Striped Maple is an example, there appears to
be little floral evidence in this valley for cold air drainage/accumulation
from above. While the upper valley
slopes are capacious and well directed, the steep lower valley may prevent
accumulation at the level observed.
However the question cannot be answered by this brief foray. Also, see
our explanation above regarding lapse rate cooling.